No. 1 Carolina Opens with Tough No. 5 Florida

Live Blog

It's a bluebird day for lacrosse - I'm not really talking about
the temperature, since it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 30
degrees as I write here from my couch in Baltimore - but we've got
a lot of games on the schedule, including the first Top 5 tilt from
either gender as No. 1 Carolina takes on No. 5 Florida in Chapel
Hill.

The game will be webcasted live (link above), so I'll be keeping
up with a blog (available to the right) for fans that want to
follow along, ask questions, whatever, whether you have the ability
to watch along with me or just want to keep up as I blog away.

This is the season opener for both teams, with Florida looking
to replace a huge chunk of talent that graduated. This one could
set the tone for the women's season ahead, so follow along and see
who comes out on top...

North Carolina Notes

CHAPEL HILL — Top-ranked and defending NCAA champion North
Carolina will open the official defense of its national title on
Saturday when it kicks off its 2014 regular season at home against
No. 4 Florida. The Tar Heels and Gators will take the draw on their
campaigns at noon at Fetzer Field. Saturday's matchup will mark the
fourth year in a row UNC and Florida have faced each other in the
first game of the season.The game will be streamed live online by
GoHeels TV on GoHeels.com, the official website of Carolina
athletics.

A season ago, Carolina won its first NCAA championship, beating
Northwestern in the semifinals and unbeaten and top-ranked Maryland
in triple overtime in the final.

Carolina returns nine starters and 24 letterwinners from last
year's team, including preseason All-Americas in attacker Abbey
Friend, defender Sloane Serpe and defender Margaret Corzel. Senior
midfielder Brittney Coppa also was a preseason All-America choice
before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during
the preseason.

The defense, long a point of pride for the Tar Heels, should be
very strong once again in 2014. Sophomore goalie Megan Ward, who
started the last seven games of 2013 and earned All-NCAA Tournament
honors, returns in goal and will be supported by highly-touted
freshman Caylee Waters. Serpe and Corzel should anchor the defense
along with sophomore Mallory Frysinger and juniors Caileigh Sindall
and Courtney Waite, all of whom have starting experience.

Seniors Friend and Taylor George will anchor the attack unit,
along with sophomore Aly Messinger, who earned All-NCAA Tournament
honors last year. The midfield is more of a question mark, given
the injury to Coppa and the graduation losses of Kara Cannizzaro,
Emily Garrity and Jessica Griffin.

A hotshot freshman class ranked best in the nation should
supplement a strong returning cast for head coach Jenny Levy, now
in her 19th season, and her staff.

Carolina leads the all-time series with Florida, 3-1. UNC won
the first three meetings (in 2010, 2011 and 2012) and Florida won
in 2013. Former Tar Heel All-America midfielder Erica LaGrow (UNC
'08) is an assistant coach with the Gators.

The Tar Heels and Gators will be meeting in February in Chapel
Hill for the fifth consecutive season. UNC and UF played for the
first time on Feb. 28, 2010, prior to opening the season against
each other for the last four years. The Tar Heels beat the Gators
18-5 in their first meeting in 2010, Florida's first year as a
varsity program. In 2011, Carolina beat the Gators 10-9 in overtime
and 11-9 in 2012.

Carolina is 14-4 all-time in season-opening games and have won
seven of its last eight. The Tar Heels had won seven openers in a
row before losing 5-3 to Florida last year.

UNC begins the 2014 season right where it ended the 2013
campaign: atop the national polls. The Tar Heels grabbed the No. 1
spot in both the IWLCA Coaches Poll and the Brine Media Poll for
2014. Florida is No. 4 in the media poll and No. 5 in the coaches
poll.

Florida Notes

The No. 4 Florida Gators will open their 2014 season at No. 1
North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 8, with the opening draw set for
noon.

It marks the fourth consecutive season the two teams have met
for Florida's season opener. In 2013, the Gators picked up their
first win in the series with a 5-3 decision.

Both teams are ranked in the top five in the media and coaches'
preseason polls. The Gators are ranked No. 4 in the Inside
Lacrosse/Brine media poll and No. 5 in the IWLCA poll while the Tar
Heels are ranked No. 1 in both polls.

The Gators are coming off their third-consecutive ALC
regular-season championship as well as their third-straight NCAA
Tournament appearance in the program's four-year history. Florida
finished the season with an 18-3 record, including a 9-0 record at
Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Florida graduated its first four-year class in 2013 and welcomes
11 rookies to the team. Of the 28 players on the Gators' roster
this season, 22 are underclassmen, several of whom are expected to
make an immediate impact.

UNC, the reigning NCAA national champion, returns nine starters
from the 2-13 season when they went 18-3 and defeated Maryland in
triple overtime to win the program's first national title.

Live audio is available from GatorZone.com with Kyle Benzion.
Fans can also interact on Twitter by using the season hashtag #FLax
or game day hashtag #FLaxVsUNC.